So are even the Academy Awards organizers admitting something is wrong now?

The Oscars have come under heavy criticism for nominating and awarding films that were critical darlings but which weren't exactly box-office blockbusters. (Particularly the year in which "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton" and "There Will Be Blood" — as well as the eventual Best Picture winner "No Country for Old Men" — were nominated.)

And of course, ratings have dropped for the Academy Awards telecasts, correspondingly.

In typical knee-jerk fashion, the awards organizers have made a change for the 2010 Academy Awards, which will be announced March 7. Next year's Oscars will feature 10 Best Picture nominees, doubling the existing number.

The conventional wisdom is that the nominations may include a few more crowd-friendly movies. They won't win, but there is a chance that you might find something like Disney-Pixar's "Up" among the nominees.

Again, it seems like a half-hearted and ill-thought-out change.

Rather than expand the Best Picture category, why don't Oscar organizers create a new one — like "Best Picture You've Actually Seen?"

AND WHILE I'M AT IT…

It's been long time since I've done one of these. Inspired by David Letterman and his clever "Late Show" writers, I've occasionally done my own versions of his infamous Top-10 lists.

The results and amusement vary, depending on your sense of snarky humor.

So without any further ado, here are my Top 10 Rejected New Categories for the Academy Awards. No wagering, please.

10. Best Director Who's Not Named Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg.

9. Best Performance By Someone Whose Career Will Flame Out Afterward. (See: Cuba Gooding Jr., Mira Sorvino, Halle Berry, Roberto Benigni, Joe Pesci, etc.)

8. Best Actor Who's Not Named Tom Hanks.

7. Best Unoriginal, Unmusical Song. (Pierce Brosnan would have been eligible for his warblings in "Mamma Mia!")

6. Best Documentary That's Not About the Holocaust.

5. Best Performance That's Less Than Five Minutes. (Also known as the Dame Judi Dench Award.)

4. Best Animated Feature That Wasn't Produced by Pixar.

3. Best Portrayal of a Crazy Person. (They already give one of these away yearly, under a different name.)

2. Best Performance by an Actress That's Not Named Meryl Streep.

And the No. 1 Rejected New Category for the Academy Awards:

1. Best Person You Really, Really Like.

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com